Lawmakers in the House this week introduced legislation to provide farmers with stress assistance programs. The Stemming the Tide of Rural Economic Stress and Suicide, or STRESS Act, seeks to make mental health treatment more available for farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers. The legislation was introduced by Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer, along with lawmakers from Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, and …

The U.S. House, following Senate action, has introduced a bill to stop an unintended regulation of farms. Introduced this week, ACRE, the Agricultural Certainty for Reporting Emissions Act, would avoid unnecessary environmental reporting for farmers and ranchers. The Senate version of the bill, the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method, or FARM Act, would do the same. Under current regulations, approximately 200,000 …

The European Union classifies cranberries as a retaliation target in response to President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. Bloomberg reports cranberries are among a basket of all-American goods, from peanut butter to bourbon whiskey and Harley Davidson motorbikes, singled out by the European Union. A lawmaker from Wisconsin says U.S. dairy is on the list as well, though the official …

As Congress continues preparation for the 2018 Farm Bill, rural America continues to voice its support for maintaining a strong crop insurance system. One of the loudest voices in that chorus belongs to the country’s largest farm organization, the American Farm Bureau Federation. An active member of the crop insurance coalition, Farm Bureau is working hard to dispel myths about …

A bipartisan bill to exempt farmers from reporting to the U.S. Coast Guard emissions from the natural breakdown of manure on their farms yesterday was introduced in the U.S. House. The National Pork Producers Council strongly supports the legislation, which is similar to a bipartisan bill introduced last month in the Senate. Sponsored by Reps. Billy Long, R-Mo., and Jim …

New vials, beakers, test tubes and sinks. More room. Those are just some of the features of laboratories that will open at the annual Field Day on April 5 at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Range Cattle Research and Education Center. “These spaces greatly advance our efforts to modernize our research laboratory and graduate student …

On Tuesday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted livestock haulers an additional 90-day waiver from a regulation that could have a negative effect on animal well-being. The National Pork Producers Council applauded the move. A Department of Transportation rule first issued in 2015 required all commercial truckers involved in interstate commerce to replace their paper driving logs with Electronic …

The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and the National Grain and Feed Association are both in favor of a legislative proposal that would fix an unintended consequence of the Republican tax overhaul. The changes to tax law give huge tax breaks to farmers who sell their goods to cooperatives over other types of businesses. Politico says congressional leaders want the …

The White House has asked China to come up with a plan that would cut $100 billion off the trade deficit it currently has with the U.S. An administration official says that would be a reduction of more than 25 percent from last year’s trade gap with China. Bloomberg says the U.S. trade shortfall in goods traded with China surged …